Judge dealing with riot cases shot dead in Ukraine

A judge who recently dealt with a case concerning riots has been shot dead in central Ukraine by unknown assailants, according to the Interior Ministry. The police presume his murder is connected with his judicial work.

The 34-year-old district court judge, Aleksandr Lobodenko, died
in hospital overnight Wednesday from multiple gunshot wounds.

According to preliminary information, two assailants fired two
gunshots at the judge near his house, and he suffered one injury
to his spine, the Interior ministry said in a statement.

Police have opened a criminal investigation, looking into various
possible motives behind the killing, including a connection with
Lobodenko’s judicial work.

In its statement, the Interior Ministry said that in January
Lobodenko had sentenced two protesters to two months of house
arrest, the Ukrainian newspaper Telegraf reported. However, there
is no apparent connection between the cases.

The men put under house arrest had tried to seize the City Hall
in the central Ukrainian town of Kremenchug during mass
anti-government protests that have gripped the whole country
since November.

In the wake of Lobodenko’s shooting, Ukrainian President Viktor
Yanukovych called on the government to toughen the laws
concerning the security of judges and their families, according
to a statement posted on the president’s website.

Experts cited by RIA Novosti news agency said they thought the
killing could aggravate the political situation in the country,
if it is confirmed that the attack was related to the case of the
sentenced protesters.

“It could have been a purely criminal act,” said the
head of the Political Situation Center, Sergey Miheev. He added
that it is necessary to determine whether the killing is linked
with the protesters’ sentencing.

"Regardless of the assailants, of course, the murder greatly
destabilizes the situation in Ukraine," said Andrey
Suzdaltsov, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and
International Affairs at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics.
Suzdaltsov is also a member of the Russian Council on
International Affairs.

The opposition protests started in November after Ukrainian
President Viktor Yanukovich refused to sign a trade treaty with
the EU, and instead in December turned to Russia for monetary
aid.

The demonstrations have since developed into ongoing pro-EU
integration riots, with protesters seizing government buildings
and demanding that Yanukovich step down.

Under pressure from the Ukrainian opposition parties, the
government of Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov was forced to resign.
The president signed a bill declaring amnesty for protesters and
canceling unpopular anti-demonstration laws on January 31.